


Girl Next Door

by Sundriedlilies



Category: Emma Swan - Fandom, Once Upon A Time - Fandom, Regina Mills - Fandom, swan queen - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/F, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-21
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-11-03 09:04:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10964064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sundriedlilies/pseuds/Sundriedlilies
Summary: Regina's world got turned upside down the day she found out her next door neighbor was a pornstar. Now she's having thoughts she shouldn't be having and feelings she shouldn't be harboring.





	1. Chapter 1

Regina Mills found herself shamelessly gawking at the woman sitting in front of her, refusing to take in what she'd just heard. "Come again?" The brunette blinked rapidly with her mouth hanging open. Surely there had been a mistake, there had to have been a mistake.

Green eyes held an almost playful glint as they jumped across every inch of Regina's face, and then a small smirk painted itself across thin lips. "I _said_..." Emma cleared her throat and scooted a little closer to her new neighbor. "That I'm an adult entertainer."

Regina's eyes bulged and she felt a blush paint itself across her cheeks. Attempting to scoot away from the blonde, she crossed her legs and subtly pulled at the ends of her skirt, as if Emma were threatening to take her right there on the couch. "Like... like a...?" She didn't finish her sentence, in fact she physically couldn't finish her sentence. Regina felt like she was choking all of a sudden, like the air was suddenly too thick for her to breathe in.

"Pornstar?" Emma asked with a raised eyebrow. She was enjoying the look on Regina's face all too much.

"N-no, I wasn't going to- I mean..." Regina turned her head to glance at the door, only to gain some temporary relief from the blonde's gaze. Then she swallowed thickly. "I was going to say stripper but-" She ducked her head and brought her eyes back up to meet Emma's. The blonde, seemingly liked to see her squirm. "Are you?"

"Am I what?" Emma asked and Regina missed the sultry undertone in her voice, in fact she missed all of Emma's physical cues. Instead the brunette felt embarrassed to even be delving into this conversation. Emma was her neighbor, they'd only met a week ago when the blonde moved into the apartment next to hers, she didn't need to know these things about the blonde. However, as embarrassing and uncomfortable as this conversation was for Regina, she still found herself full of shameful interest.

"A uh..." Her tongue darted out and wet her lips, and Emma follows the action with her eyes. "Adult movie star?"

The blonde scoffed and waved her hand dismissively. "It's okay to say Pornstar Regina. No one is listening to you. I'm not wired or anything, I swear." She held her hand up in mock surrender before gesturing to the length of her torso. "You can frisk me if you'd like." She said suggestively.

Regina switched her legs and slightly turned away from Emma, as she began to feel a slight temperature rise in her lower region. The embarrassment of it all caused her to nearly bolt out of the room, but for some reason she stayed rooted in her spot. "That won't be necessary, Ms. Swan."

Emma regarded her for a moment, in a way that a predator regards its meal. Such a charge filled gaze the blonde sent her way, and it was beginning to make Regina's mouth water. "Suit yourself." A small shrug was followed by Emma reaching for her goblet off of her coffee table. Regina couldn't help but be a bit mesmerized by how the blonde's lips wrapped around the rim of the cup.

Brown eyes were fixed on how Emma drank in the liquids of the cup without ever letting her eyes leave Regina. The brunette felt her breathing pick up slightly before she broke eye contact. She thought of other things to say. There were a plethora of topics they could discuss aside from career choices, but now that Emma had mentioned what she does for a living... Regina could only think of _that_. "So you're a... pornstar?" She felt wrong for saying it, almost degrading, as if she were insulting Emma in some kind of way.

The blonde scoffed again, with a playful smirk in place as if it was a permanent feature of hers. "I am. I'm surprised you don't recognize me, most people do." She shrugged and then placed her glass back on the coffee table.

Regina's cheeks grew even more red at what the blonde was insinuating. "No, I-" Regina grabbed her purse and placed it in her lap, like she was readying herself to leave. But instead she hugged the object close for some form of stability. "I don't partake in that type of thing." Emma raised a perfectly arched eyebrow in response and Regina was quick to correct herself. "Not that I frown upon it... I just- I guess I could never get into to it. Porn, if you will, is not something that uh... gets me going." She gulped.

"No?" The blonde asked with a hint of a teasing tone laced in her voice. "So tell me what does... get you going, Ms. Mills." She watched Regina fumble over her words before she leaned back and crossed her own legs, exposing more of her upper thigh. Brown eyes darted to the blonde's legs and then back up to her eyes, and Emma noticed it all. "Do you think it would 'get you going' if... I don't know, you watched me, I mean watched some of my videos?" The suggestion came out so innocently and unexpected that Regina found herself choking on her own saliva.

"Im sorry, what?" She was finally able to gasp out.

Emma uncrossed her legs and took the opportunity to scoot closer to the brunette. She placed a soft but firm hand on the other woman's thigh and leaned in ever so slightly. "Watch me." She said softly, and Regina could literally feel all the blood rush to her nether region.

"Ms. Swan-"

"You know, I like it when you call me that. It's kinky." She leaned in and nipped at Regina's earlobe, and the brunette found her eyes glued shut. Everything simply felt so good, and Emma had barely touched her.

"I should leave." Regina said breathlessly, but she made no effort to move.

The blonde glanced down to her lap before she gently took Regina's purse and set it on the ground. Then without a word, Emma looked into Regina's eyes gaining all of the permission she needed with a lust filled gaze and gently encouraged Regina to uncross her legs. "I think you should stay." She punctuated her statement with a firm kiss to the brunette's neck.

Regina clenched her teeth and bit back a moan. She may have wanted to push the blonde away and tell her to stop but instead she turned towards Emma, softly grabbing her toned biceps and muttered a breathless "please Emma..."

Just as the blonde was about to capture full awaiting lips and give Regina what she so shamelessly hoped for, there was a knock at the door, but it sounded far away almost as if it didn't actually happen.

Emma's green eyes darted across the room and stilled her actions. "I should get that..."

"No." Regina whined a little too desperately. "Please just," she took her bottom lip into her mouth and regarded the blonde with nothing but raw lust. "Do what you want to me."

Emma couldn't say no to that, she moved to close the distance again... but there was more knocking, and this time it was closer, louder maybe?

"Don't." Regina warned, when Emma moved to get up.

"But the doo-"

The knocking was more persistent now. "Regina open up!" Regina's eyebrows furrowed as she began to gain consciousness again. She let out a groan once her eyes popped open and she realized she was in her own bedroom.

Her forehead was covered in sweat and she simply couldn't ignore the heavy aching she felt between her legs. She cursed the day Emma Swan waltzed into her life so carelessly. This wasn't the first time she'd had a dream like this about the blonde. Since the day she found out what Emma did for a living Regina had been on a sort of downwards spiral to a lustful obsession.

And the sad part about it all was that Emma was quite a respectable young woman. She only let Regina know of her career because she didn't want the brunette finding out any other way if she hadn't already known. Thinking back Regina thought that Emma was even a little nervous to tell her, maybe even a little shy about the situation. She was sweet and adorable and everything that one would think a girl next door would be.

Emma had even asked Regina not to look her up on the internet to which the brunette happily obliged. She didn't think her brain would conjure up such dirty thoughts about the blonde afterwards that would leave her aching to do a late night search.

Emma was unknowingly brainwashing her, turning her into someone she was not, and she didn't know if she hated it or absolutely loved it.

"Regina open the goddamn door!" There was knocking again. She rolled her eyes and threw her duvet off of her.

"I'm coming!" The brunette yelled back before she swung her bedroom door open.

"It's about time!" Kathryn said with an overdramatic wave of her hands. "You took forever, and why does it look like you just ran a marathon in there? Wait-" Kathryn said with a smug smirk as she tried to peer over her best friend's shoulder. "Did I just interrupt something?"

Regina placed a firm hand on her friend's shoulder and gently pushed her back. "No one's here, and I thought I said you could use my spare key only in times of emergencies."

Kathryn flashed a sheepish smile before she turned to walk towards the kitchen. "It was an emergency." She threw over her shoulder, and Regina followed her. "You weren't answering your phone." The blonde ignored the annoyed look the brunette was sending her and opted on rummaging through the fridge instead. "Thought you were dead."

Regina plopped down on her bar stool as images of Emma Swan played in her mind like a movie. She cupped her face in her hands and reeled over her new found and sudden interest in her next door neighbor.

"Are you okay?" Kathryn questioned with a half eaten banana in her mouth.

The brunette only shook her head. If she was being honest, and she was, she was not okay. She felt guilty for some reason, and a little dirty. She should not be harboring any type of feelings towards her next door neighbor.

"What's wrong?" Kathryn questioned in concern.

"I-" Regina hesitated, feeling herself grow embarrassed all over again. But then she remembered who she was talking to. It was Kathryn her best and most trusted friend. She'd confided in Kathryn countless times before, and the woman always offered the most sound and level minded advice and it was always in Regina's best interest. With a deep breath in she readied herself and then she exhaled. "I think- I may be a lesbian." She cringed at the word for some residual fear that Kathryn wouldn't take it well.

The blonde's lips formed a small o and her eyes grew slightly larger. She didn't say anything for a long moment and Regina grew nervous. "Say something." She pleaded. "Anything."

Kathryn shook her head as if to clear her thoughts and walked around the island to be closer to the brunette. "I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting you to say that is all." She offered Regina a lopsided smile. "So... you like women?" She prodded and Regina could hear the slight confusion in her voice.

"Yes... well, no." Regina shook her head. "Just one woman."

Kathryn pondered that idea and nodded. She hadn't really seen this one coming, but regina was her friend through it all. There was nothing the brunette could say to her that would change that. "Okay." She nodded slowly. "Who is she?"

Regina sunk further in her seat. "The girl next door." She said shamefully and she watched as surprise took over her best friend's features.

"You mean Emma Swan?" The brunette nodded. "The pornstar?" Kathryn gawked.


	2. Chapter 2

Regina cringed feeling the shame and embarrassment from openly admitting her silly little crush on her neighbor. Kathryn was doing nothing to soothe Regina's insecurities as she stood there stunned into silence. The brunette couldn't help but feel a bit dejected and silly. "You're judging me aren't you?" Her eyes slightly narrowed at her friend.

"Wha- no!" Kathryn hurried to say a little too forcefully, throwing her hands out to stop Regina from leaving when she saw the brunette turn away. "I'm not judging you, I promise!"

"You're judging her then!" Regina wasn't sure why she was getting worked up over Kathryn's reaction, she'd barely given one after all. But maybe, the brunette had been unknowingly seeking a little more support. She had left herself a bit exposed by admitting that she not only has a crush on a woman, but a woman who just so happened to be a pornstar.

"No! I'm not judging anyone, this is just-" the blonde huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, suddenly feeling defensive. "It's a lot to take in. I mean just yesterday you were straight, and just about a week and a half ago you didn't even know Emma Swan existed. Now all of a sudden-" throwing her hands in the air in exasperation, Kathryn turned on her heels and moved around the bar just to add a little space between them. "You're a lesbian-"

"These feelings are strictly limited to Emma, not any other women." The brunette cut in a little heatedly.

The blonde threw up her hand and shrugged her shoulders. "-are you even sure that you have feelings for her? I mean it's only been a little over a week of knowing her, with brief interactions. You don't think your interest is piqued because of her career? I mean..." Kathryn scoffs and nods. "We all want to go to bed with a pornstar and for you to think it's anything other than lust is a little naive, and you know better Regina."

Regina seemed repulsed by the idea initially, but after thinking about it, maybe Kathryn was right. She had took interest to Emma alarmingly fast after finding out about her career choice. Maybe it was just lust, all her dreams seemed to be centered around one thing anyway. "I don't know." She sighed before taking her fingers through her hair. "Maybe you're right... I just can't get her out of my head and it's- it's bothering me." She stated with defeat evident in her voice and posture.

Kathryn flashed her friend a look of sympathy and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "So... then what are you going to do about this?" She asked carefully, as if she were afraid that Regina would get up and run if she didn't ask with care.

The brunette shrugged and fiddled with her fingers as fantasies of Emma Swan blasted loudly in her head. She wanted the blonde to kiss her, to touch her, to look at her like she did in Regina's dreams. She wanted Emma Swan. "Nothing, I suppose..." she sighed. "I mean, there is nothing I can do in this situation besides, let it run its course. I'm sure you're right, it's probably just lust."

"Yea." Kathryn agreed with a small smile displayed on her lips. "It'd be too messy getting all tangled up in her lifestyle anyway."

Regina nodded in response with thoughts of provoking green eyes staring at her in a way that screamed 'I want you' and lips that begged her to 'come here.' "Yea, you're right." She concluded.

Two days later Regina shot up to a sitting position in her bed, letting out a heartfelt groan upon the realization that Emma was still taunting her in her dreams. She'd never hated someone for wanting them so bad. She needed air.

The brunette hopped up from her bed and skillfully made her way across her bedroom in the dark to her balcony door. As soon as she stepped outside a pleasant gust of wind blew in her direction and she couldn't help but revel in the feel. She stepped to the edge of the balcony and placed her hands on the railing, letting her eyes fall shut. She just needed to take in the moment and forget about Emma Swan, at least for a second.

"If you jump, I won't be able to catch you." Came a teasing voice, and Regina nearly jumped out of her skin. She jolted away from the edge and her back collided roughly with the outside wall of her apartment. She let out a huff of air and placed a hand over her chest in an attempt to calm her heart that beat wildly in her chest. But she was able to do no such thing, especially after seeing the source of said voice.

There on the balcony right next to hers stood Emma Swan in all her glory, looking just as beautiful as ever. She was dressed in pajamas with a blanket tightly wrapped around her lithe frame. She sported an apologetic smile on her lips as she regarded her neighbor. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." She smiled and kicked something off of her balcony that Regina couldn't make out.

"It's fine dear." She dropped her hand from her chest and chewed her bottom lip. She'd had dreams of what she would like to say to Emma, better yet the things she'd like to do to Emma... or things she'd like for the blonde to do to her. But every time they came into contact, Regina found herself at a loss for words. She didn't know how to converse with the blonde without a million dirty thoughts running through her mind.

Green eyes darted from Regina to look up at the sky and back to Regina. "You can see the Big Dipper from here." She pointed upwards and Regina's eyes immediately looked to the sky. Admittedly, all the brunette saw was a sky full of stars and nothing more, but Emma saw something and that had the brunette nodding and agreeing on how beautiful it was.

"What are you doing out here so late?" Regina found herself asking Emma's profile as the blonde continued to stargaze. She watched as one dainty shoulder lifted and then fell. The blonde tilted her head to the side before she met Regina's gaze.

She was thinking about something. "I just got off of work." She said lowly, and Regina had to pinch herself subtly just to make sure this wasn't another one of her dreams. They would all start off innocently enough but somehow would end with Regina panting Emma's name breathlessly. So she needed to make sure this wasn't one of those dreams.

She felt a tiny sting from where she'd pinched herself and let out a sigh of relief, but then quickly grew nervous for a whole new reason. Emma said she'd just got off work. That both excited her and clawed at a few of her jealousy sensors. "S-so you just got finished uh...?" She wetted her lips and switched her stance. "You just got done-"

"Don't do that." The blonde stopped her with a glare before she could finish.

"Wh-what did I do?" Regina asked a bit dumbfounded.

"That." Emma pointed an accusatory finger at her neighbor. "What you're doing right now, looking at me like I'm some- some sex toy." Her words died down at the end and Regina immediately dismissed any thought that had recently occupied her mind. "Don't do that?" It came off as more of a question rather than a statement, and Regina found herself nodding her head without consciously being aware of doing so.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I wasn't aware that's how I was coming off." The blonde avoided her gaze and Regina could see a glimpse of red tinting her cheeks. She couldn't help but internally kick herself. "I'm sorry." She offered again.

Emma let the apology hang in the air for a moment before she brought green eyes back up to meet brown ones. "It's fine." She said dismissively as she wrapped herself up tighter in her blanket. "I guess-" she let out a puff of air and looked back to the sky.

She didn't finish her thought and Regina didn't push her to. Instead the brunette followed Emma's gaze and looked to the sky, trying to find the Big Dipper that Emma skillfully pointed out not too long ago. The night was cool and there was a slight breeze. The brunette found herself shivering lightly but unwilling to go inside just yet. She sent almost longing glances towards Emma and studied how the blonde's eyes seemed to light up as she studied the stars above. For a moment Regina wished she could see things through Emma's eyes.

"Hey Emma?" Regina's voice floated through the air and traveled to the next balcony over. The blonde turned her head with a slight smile to her features.

"Yea?"

"Would you want to maybe..." Regina grew nervous as her best friend's words rang loudly in her head. Warnings to not get involved because she was unsure of herself and Emma's lifestyle was too complicated. But she'd already cast the line, she may as well reel it in. "Go out some time for coffee or something?" Regina shrugged nonchalantly and both of Emma's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Not, anything weird. Just... I feel like I don't know much about you."

The blonde smirked and there was a playful glint in her eyes. "Regina, women like you don't befriend women like me." She stated softly and for some reason, even though Regina knew it to be true, she felt Emma's words were some kind of an insult. "I'm sorry but I can't do coffee or something, you wouldn't do well around me." Regina found herself frowning, feeling embarrassed that she'd put herself out there only to be rejected. She'd second guessed herself and went against her better judgement and asked anyway. She couldn't help but feel foolish.

Regina regarded her for a moment and then she gave her a curt nod. "Very well, goodnight Ms. Swan." She said shortly before turning to go back inside. Once she was back in the confines of her bedroom she let her back rest against her wall. "Stupid. I'm so stupid." She hissed to herself. The Emma in her dreams was beginning to vastly cloud her judgement. The blonde was so realistic that it was easy for Regina to think the real Emma felt the same. But apparently not. The woman in her dreams, and the woman in real life were two completely different entities.

Dream Swan was sexy and forward, whereas the real Swan seemed more reserved and a little shy sometimes. Regina kept kicking herself because Kathryn was right, this was complete and disgraceful lust for her next door neighbor. She felt even more ashamed of herself. This was wrong on so many levels, but somehow the brunette still wanted to... _try_.

What exactly? She wasn't sure... but she craved more of Emma's presence.

Outside Emma stared at the spot Regina had recently occupied longer than she cared to admit before letting out a visible puff of air in the cool night. She glanced at Regina's closed door and then she turned to go back inside herself. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapters, I know, but I can give super speedy updates that way! Thanks for the positive feedback everyone. I know exactly where I want to take this story and how I want it to end. Just FYI, there will be a little bit of angst as Regina continues to try her hand with Emma. Also, I don't know how long this story will be, but I'm thinking I can wrap this up in about ten more chapters. Maybe, we'll see


	3. Chapter 3

Three days later the brunette had found herself in a compromising position. Regina threw her head back in ecstasy letting out an onslaught of sultry moans. Her fingers dug deep into her office chair with each of her legs hanging over each arm of the chair. Her pencil skirt had been hiked all the way up and her underwear carelessly disregarded. "Fuck." She hissed. She willed her eyes to open just to catch a glimpse of Emma's messy blonde hair sprawled between her legs. The sight of her neighbor's face buried in between her legs in conjunction with the wonders Emma was doing with her tongue threatened to be Regina's undoing. "Just a little more." The brunette pleaded breathlessly. Tears forming in her eyes from the level of intensity.

Her legs began to shake violently and pleasurable jerks whipped through her body. No one had ever made her feel this good, no man had ever done to Regina what Emma was doing right now and it was pure euphoric pleasure. "Emma, I'm cu-" her words died on her tongue as her jaw went slack and her legs began to close involuntarily around Emma's face. But the blonde didn't stop there, she switch the quick swipes of her tongue to sucking and Regina nearly saw fireworks as tears began to cascade down her cheeks.

"Yes, Emma, oh god yes I-"

"Ms. Mills, your noon appointment is here to see you." Regina blinked rapidly and glanced around her empty office. After coming to, she felt the familiar feeling of embarrassment begin to creep up on her in the form of a blush. She couldn't even escape Emma if she wasn't sleeping. Somehow she'd ended up daydreaming about how the blonde would show up at her job without saying a word and roughly taking her in her office chair. Emma had only given her a look before she dropped down to her knees just in front of Regina, parted her legs and began to feast. And somehow all Regina managed to do was burry her hands deep into long golden locks and pull her in closer in response.

She felt ashamed of herself for thinking such thoughts, but she simply couldn't help it. It was as if her brain was ignoring her every attempt to not think of the blonde, and instead repaid her with the filthiest fantasies. Or maybe they were just her deepest desires.

With a heavy sigh she dropped her head into her hand and placed a lazy finger on the call button. She didn't want to be at work today. "Send them in." She paused, briefly, before realization dawned on her. She didn't have a noon appointment, in fact noon appointments weren't even a thing. This was supposed to be her lunch hour, but before she could page her assistant back the doors of her office swung open revealing a bubbly blonde holding two containers in each of her hands.

"I got you a chicken salad from your favorite place!" Kathryn said in a sing song voice before she kicked the door closed with her boot clad feet. "Your assistant said you'd been cooped up in your office for the better part of the morning." She smiled brightly as she walked the short distance to Regina's desk.

The brunette was still reeling from her recent thoughts and Kathryn just had to show when she was still flushed and a bit dazed. Regina cleared her throat and straightened her posture, trying to mask her flustered state. "You shouldn't have." No really, she shouldn't have, before Kathryn appeared, Emma was just about to make her-

"But it's Wednesday." Kathryn deadpanned as she slid Regina's salad across the slick desk. "We always have lunch together on Wednesdays." Regina caught the bowl skillfully before it could reach her blouse and nodded in absentmindedly. Was it Wednesday already? Time was evading her these days.

"Right." She looked down disdainfully at her salad as she tried to think of the usual conversation starter. "How's David?"

"Eh." Kathryn shrugged and tilted her head to the side causing her ponytail to whip across her shoulder. "You know how David is, he's all work and no play." It wasn't shocking to hear by any means. Kathryn and David always butted heads when it came to certain aspects, and work was one of them from the very start.

The brunette dug into her salad with an almost careful appeal. She wasn't really in the mood for eating. She simply stuck her fork through a few pieces of meat and tried to focus on Kathryn retelling the most recent argument she and her boyfriend had gotten into.

Regina forked around her food momentarily forgetting that she was supposed to be actively listening and Kathryn didn't appreciate being ignored. With a scowl fixed on her face the blonde waved her hand just in front of the brunette's dazed eyes. It took a moment, but Regina finally noticed that Kathryn was trying to get her attention after a few seconds of her waving.

"Uh, hello? Am I talking to a wall here?"

"No- I uh, I'm sorry. I'm just thinking about all of the work I need to catch up on." She said sheepishly. Blue eyes flashed Regina a glare so fierce that it made her sink into her seat.

"Right." Kathryn purses her lips. "And you expect me to believe that because?"

"Okay fine, but for the record, I tried to steer clear of this topic." Kathryn only flashed her an amused smirk before leaning back in her chair. "I asked Emma out..." Regina said hastily and waited for her friend to respond. When Kathryn's smirk stayed cemented on her face and she didn't move from her seat Regina thought that the blonde may have been in shock momentarily. So she gave her a few more moments to process her words, but Kathryn remained unmoved. "Well?" She asked with wide eyes and an exasperated gesture.

"Well, what Regina?"

"Aren't you going to say something? Scold me? Tell me that you told me not to do that?"

"No." The blonde said simply.

"But- I thought... I mean you _did_ say-"

"Yes, I know what I said..." blue eyes roamed to the ceiling and Kathryn crossed her arms cockily. "But I also _knew_ you weren't going to listen. So, what did she say?"

The brunette's shoulders dropped and she pushed her uneaten salad away from her. "No, obviously."

Kathryn quickly brought her hand up to cover her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laughter. Regina's eyes darted across her desk in search of anything she could throw at the blonde, but came up short. "This isn't funny Kathryn." She huffed in frustration.

"Well I mean it _is_ just a little bit." The blonde held her index finger and thumb together in a pinching pose. "I mean I told you not to go barking up that tree."

"Yea well... I couldn't help it. She was just standing there looking so..." brown eyes fell to the floor as she remembered how incredibly beautiful Emma looked under the night sky. No over dramatic make-up, no flashy outfit, or even a fancy hair style, and she was still gorgeous. Just wrapped in a blanket pointing out things Regina couldn't quite see.

"Oh god, don't tell me you-" Kathryn's lips curled upwards.

Brown eyes darted up to meet blue ones as she waited for Kathryn to finish her sentence. "What?" She questioned.

The blonde waved both of her hand as if she could erase the end of that sentence and shook her head. "Nothing, I just-" Kathryn cut herself off once again and let out a sigh. "I mean, have you even seen any of her... videos?" She questioned lowly as if someone else was occupying Regina's office.

Immediately the brunette found herself crossing her legs and leaning in a little closer. "She asked me not to." She stated softly to which her best friend's response was to nearly fall out of her seat.

"So you're telling me you developed this..." Kathryn seemed at a loss for words as she struggled to define Regina's feelings towards the girl next door. " _Infatuation_ without even seeing what she's actually made of?"

Regina felt disgusting at how much the idea of watching Emma in the act with someone else was turning her on. "I'm not infatuated."

"Bullshit."

"I like her is all."

"You're curious." Kathryn shot back as if she'd just solved the world's biggest mystery. "You have no idea what it's like, and you're driving yourself crazy trying to figure it out. Regina, don't confuse curiosity with feelings."

The brunette ground her teeth and took in a subtle deep breath. Maybe she was being overly sensitive about the situation, but she'd been alive long enough to know how she felt when she felt something. Sure, she had been having fantasies about Emma that were purely sexual and yes she would admit that she was indeed curious but the brunette couldn't help but feel as though maybe things went a little deeper than that.

Their first encounter, before she'd even known of Emma's career, she'd automatically thought the blonde was adorable and had a somewhat endearing personality. That night on the balcony, Regina couldn't help but send fleeting glances the blonde's way.

And maybe that wasn't much to go by but it was enough for her to want to explore whatever pull she felt towards the blonde. That is, if Emma was ever willing to let her.

"I'm going to ask her out again tonight." Regina said resolutely. "And if she turns me down, again..." She dipped her head clasped her fingers together. "I'll just have to figure out another way to-"

"To what?" The blonde nearly slammed her hands on the desk. "Where _could_ this possibly go?"

Regina's temples pulsed and she could feel a headache coming on. "It could go many places."

"You're living in your fantasies." Kathryn said glumly, flashing her friend a sympathetic look. "She'll never take you up on your offer." If looks could kill, Kathryn wouldn't be sitting in front of Regina breathing so effortless. "And I'm not saying that to discourage you. I'm saying it because- well, if you'd watch her videos..." The blonde said lowly.

"She asked me-"

"Fine," The blonde interjected before Regina could finish. "but you should know, that she doesn't _do_ female scenes." The blonde smacked her teeth when her best friend didn't pick up on what she was trying to tell her. "Dammit, Regina, Emma is straight for god's sake. You're fantasizing about someone you _think_ you know, when in actuality, you don't know anything about her."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta go downhill to get back uphill? :) thank you for the continued support


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should probably tell you guys I've never actually seen "The Girl Next Door" movie. haply reading and thank you all for your continued support. You guys are awesome. Hope you like this chapter!

She'd been standing in one spot for far too long, her nerves in combination with what her best friend had divulged to her earlier was keeping her completely frozen to her spot. Regina knew that this was a terrible idea but it was clear her mind, well... had a mind of its own. Brown eyes nervously darted to the golden plated numbers melded on Emma's apartment door and she let out a defeated sigh. She felt silly. In fact the whole idea to show up at Emma's apartment in the first place had been silly and she knew it.

But for some odd reason, her feet made no attempt to move even after her brain had sent countless messages for her to just walk away. Instead she shifted the coffee cup that she was holding in her right hand to accompany the one in her left hand. Struggling a bit, she finally caught a good grasp and brought a hesitant hand up, fixed to finally knock after standing there for so long.

"I was wondering when you'd build the courage to knock." Already in a skittish state, Regina's left hand instinctively loosened, causing one of the coffee cups to fall from her grasp and tumble to the floor messily.

Both the brunette and the blonde jumped back to avoid any of the liquids ruining their clothes, but Regina hadn't been quick enough. "Shit! Emma? How long have you been standing there?" She asked in half shock and half embarrassment. She tried to ignore the burning liquid that was soaking through her pants leg and now stinging her skin.

"I'm so-" Emma quickly approached the brunette and bent down to pick up the cup. "I'm so sorry. You're always so jumpy." The blonde pointed out before she stood back up to be eye to eye with her neighbor. Then green eyes fell over Regina's body briefly.

She couldn't help but feel small under her gaze. Regina glanced down at her own legs and grimaced when she finally saw that her white pants had been ruined. She couldn't have been any more embarrassed even if Kathryn were there to laugh at her in front of Emma. She wanted to cover her face and just walk away with what little dignity she felt she had left. "You always catch me at the worst times." Regina groaned, she couldn't even build up the courage to look Emma in the eyes right now. "Here." She said, thrusting the remaining coffee cup towards her counterpart. "I got this for you..." the brunette glanced up to gauge a reaction, but the blonde seemed impassive as she accepted it. "In hopes that you'd-" Regina let out a defeated sigh, this was pointless. "I don't know." She dropped her head and grimaced again at her pant legs. "I should go though, this is all- it just seems-"

The brunette's eyes widened when Emma smoothly leaned in towards her with and outstretched arm. She fumbled over the remainder of her words, and her breath hitched. She could smell the scent of vanilla as Emma invaded her personal space. "Oh god." She whispered before trying to take a step back, but her heel came in contact with the smooth surface of Emma's apartment door. She was trapped, between the girl next door and, well, her door.

She had to be dreaming again.

Regina's chest bobbed up and down as her body temperature began to rise. "Emma." She muttered out as her eyes darted to the blonde's lips. "I-"

With a twist of the knob, the blonde pushed her apartment door open and motioned for the brunette to enter. "You? What?" She asked as she brushed passed Regina.

"I...?" She blinked without being able to form any words once she realized that Emma had only leaned in to unlock her door. "I knew that was happening." She mumbled as she continued to scold herself internally.

"I'm sorry?" The blonde said over shoulder as she entered the kitchen. "I didn't catch that."

"Nothing." Regina let out a nervous laugh and for a moment she didn't know what to do with herself. Should she have followed Emma into the kitchen or just made herself comfortable in the living room?

"Here." Emma came back bearing a small hand towel and a glass of wine. "Thank you for getting me coffee, I know this is your version of us 'going out' and this is my version of accepting." Regina took the towel first, a little dumbfounded, and bent down to dab up as much of the coffee off of her pants and shoes.

"You changed your mind." The brunette was in a bit of awe. "But why?"

Emma shrugged her shoulder and traded the towel for the wine when Regina stood back up. "I don't know." Blonde strands lay unruly over her shoulder and Regina stopped herself from stepping closer, from gently pushing her hair back and exposing the soft skin of her neck. "Maybe it isn't such a bad thing for us to get to know each other."

The brunette shook her head slightly, erasing the thoughts from her mind and tucked her bottom lip between her teeth. She stared at Emma with a hungry gaze before taking an impressive swig of her wine.

"Do you want to sit?" The blonde offered. "We can take this to the kitchen if you'd be more comfortable there." Emma threw her thumb over shoulder while slightly turning, giving Regina a better view of the kitchen space.

And somehow that led to images of Emma lying her body across the kitchen table as Regina begged and pleaded for her to go faster, deeper, harder. "Yes, the kitchen." She threw back another gulp of alcohol after the blonde led them out of the living room.

They took their respective seats at the table and Regina clenched her wine glass for dear life. She watched the way Emma wrapped her fingers around her cup. "So" She began with raised eyebrows. "What is it...." she seemed at a loss for words and then a look of realization dawned on her face shortly after. "What is it that we're supposed to be talking about?"

The brunette, a little flustered and caught off guard by that question, came up short herself. "Huh?"

"Why are you here?" She raised her eyebrow, and there was that playful glint in her eyes, almost as if Regina was her play thing. The blonde liked to toy with her or so it seemed.

"I, uh, I got you coffee." Regina motioned towards the drink Emma still hadn't taken a sip of. "And I thought we could get to know each other better." By talking... or _doing_ things to each other.

"Oh?" The blonde said inquisitively as she leaned back in her seat finally bringing the cup to her lips. "And what is it that you'd like to know about me... Ms. Mills?" She said thickly and Regina immediately felt a rush of warmth run through her body.

This was dream, it had to be because real Swan was sitting across from her looking as if she were about to do something that dream swan would do. Like she would crawl over the table seductively, close the distance between them, and ravage Regina right there on her kitchen chair.

"You know, just- regular things I guess." She fought to keep her cool, because as it turned out, she wasn't dreaming at all. She'd pinched herself under the table enough times to know. "We live next door to one another." She tried to reason. "I just like to know who I'm living next to." She threw out lamely, and the way Emma was looking at her didn't help her at all.

"Me too." Emma smirked before she placed her coffee cup back on the table. She stared at it for the briefest of moments and when green eyes met brown ones again, Regina saw something she'd never seen there before. Something that Dream Swan could never produce and something that real Swan was only just now showing her. "I know why you're here." Emma said with a low vibrato to her voice. "Or at least I know what's got you so hell bent on 'getting to know me.'" She added air quotes to her last few words.

Regina blinked rapidly with her mouth hanging slightly open. She contemplated on just downing the rest of her wine right then, but she decided that no amount of alcohol could satiate the burning fire of desire Emma had ignited within her. "I do want to get to know you."

"Of course you do." Emma confirmed. "But on what on level?" She asked seductively.

"O-on the level." She swallowed. "That any neighbor would-"

"Cut the bullshit Regina, you want to screw me don't you?" Emma asked before she stood from her seat and stalked towards the other woman. She placed a delicate hand between Regina's breasts. Leaning down, Emma positioned her lips to be directly beside Regina's ear, and she let her hand run suggestively over the brunette's chest. "You want to know what it's like don't you?" Still Regina sat stiffly unable to move or form words. "You want to know how it feels, how I would make you feel?"

"N-no." Regina breathed heavily, crossing her legs in the process.

"You do, I see the way you look at me." The way her lips brushed softly against the brunette's ear made Regina want to turn her head and close the small distance between them. She wanted to claim her. "I know what you want, and... I can give it to you." Regina's eyes darted to look at Emma so quickly the after affects in combination with being in such close proximity with the blonde were dizzying. "Just tell me what you want me to do to you, and I will."

Regina looked deeply into emerald eyes and bit her bottom lip. "I want you to... to touch me." She practically moaned out.

Emma hummed as she let her hand purposefully travel down Regina's body. "And what else?"

"I want your mouth on me."

Emma wasted no time in placing gentle, but firm kisses down the side of Regina's neck occasionally stopping to suck and nip at the sensitive flesh. The brunette was practically shaking with desire. She was struggling to let Emma move at her own pace rather than to just lay the blonde's body out on the table asking control.

"Is _this_ why you came over here? Is this what you wanted all along?"

Regina couldn't think. She could barely breathe. She could just barely focus on Emma's husky voice and clench at the hardwood frames of her chair. "I-"

"Is this what you wanted?" Emma asked softly, pointedly as she continued kissing the brunette gently. Emma had stilled her hand at Regina's stomach and left it there, and the brunette was only wishing she'd move it down a little further.

"Y-yes." Regina nodded a little eagerly, unable to deny it any longer. This was what she'd been wanting all along, and now she'd have it.

Emma hummed again and pressed her lips to Regina's skin, lingering longer than she had before. Regina's eyes fluttered shut and she reveled in the feel of the blonde being so close. Her eyes only fluttered open again once Emma pulled away.

The blonde removed her hand from her neighbor's midsection and stood straight up. Regina watched, dumbstruck, as Emma walked back around the table like nothing had ever happened. Brown eyes continued to follow her as Emma walked over to her counter and placed two hands on the countertop. With her back facing Regina, she muttered a weak "I need you to leave."

Confusion washed over Regina as she fought to piece together what just happened. "Did I do something wrong? Are you-"

"Get. Out." Emma said a little louder this time.

"But we were just-"

"Get out!"

Regina jolted at the sheer force behind Emma's voice and she hopped to her feet. She wanted to stay, she didn't want to leave if she'd done something to upset the blonde, and that's what kept her there for a few moments after she was dismissed. She lingered in her spot feeling an onslaught of different emotions, how strange that fear was the most prominent.

She couldn't understand what had went wrong. She took in Emma's tense figure and how the blonde stayed facing away from her. She _needed_ to say something more, anything more.

  
"Emma, I- I'm sorry..." Her words wafted through the air in the gentlest of tones and Emma still refused to face her. "For whatever I did. I'm sorry." She finished before she finally obeyed Emma's demand and left the blonde's apartment.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for that short delay, my brother graduated this weekend, and I've been caught up with that. Anyways I have anew chapter... that you all may possibly not like me for, you'll see why after you read it. Anyways! Happy readings

Regina knew that what she was doing was both foolish and stupid, but yet she needed it to happen. She kept telling herself that this is what she needed. Why? She wasn't exactly sure if she was being completely honest. "I'm glad you called me." He grunted out with two rough hands cupping her ass. She felt slightly uncomfortable as she placed her hands awkwardly on his muscular forearms. "It's been so long since we-" He was all over the place, heavy breathing and hands that somehow traveled her body both too quickly and not fast enough. She swallowed thickly, and tried not to focus on his voice.

"Shut-up Robin, just..." Regina smashed their lips together in a successful attempt to quiet him as she fought hard to push back the memory of Emma's daring green eyes. One of her once most adored features about the blonde, was now haunting her. "Kiss me here..." she requested breathlessly, exposing her neck. She tried to imagine that it was Emma kissing her again, but Robin was way too sloppy and his beard felt like sandpaper against her soft flesh.

Deciding that she hated the way he felt against her, Regina turned her head and Robin connected their lips once again. Images of Emma being directly in front of her, so close that she could feel soft puffs of air on her lips passed through the forefront of her brain. She let out a frustrated groan into Robin's mouth, one that he must have mistaken for pleasure. He shoved his tongue into the brunette's mouth and began to roughly knead at her breasts.

Regina found herself backing up until the backs of her legs came in contact with Robin's bed. The moment he lowered himself on top of her was the moment her brain implored her to get up and leave. What was she doing? She didn't want this. It was never what she'd wanted, it was why she and Robin had been broken up for over a year now.

However, she continued to let him explore her body, to kiss her. Because he was there and Regina couldn't help but briefly revel in the feel of someone wanting her, feeling her, needing her even if it was only for this moment and for completely selfish reasons.

She could feel him through his jeans as he lay flat against her, his weight a bit too much as Regina's brain wandered back to Emma. Hurt and anger flared in her chest causing her to drag her nails roughly against Robin's back. She was the reason. The reason Regina had reached this point.

Emma had taken herself away. The blonde hadn't even spared Regina a second chance to make anything right. She just went and disappeared from Regina's life all together. It had been nearly two weeks since Regina last saw Emma, and she couldn't deal with the amount of emotions that caused her to feel. The brunette had been beside herself fishing for reasons to step out into the hallway every time she thought Emma would be coming home, or searching for traces of blonde hair whenever she visited the lobby area. She began to check her mail more often and sit on her balcony for far too long with hopes and wishes that Emma would reveal herself.

She got lost momentarily in the pain and the confusion it caused. She had shocked herself upon the realization of how strongly she actually did feel towards Emma after such a short amount of time. She was fighting, with everything in her to just forget about the blonde just as she so clearly had forgotten about Regina.

Robin was losing his patience with foreplay and began to unzip his jeans. In one swift motion he pulled down his pants and briefs. He used one hand to push up Regina's skirt and spread her legs a little wider. The brunette gasped, feeling slightly caught off guard by meaty fingers brushing up against her most intimate area. Robin wasn't the best at this, his fingers were pressed against her too hard and his motions were just too fast. It only lasted for a few seconds, however, before he pushed her panties to the side and hurried to place himself directly at her entrance. Regina cried out in half pleasure and half pain. She needed this, she kept telling herself.

 _No_ , she simply wanted to forget about Emma once and for all. She _wanted_ to prove Kathryn right, Emma and herself. She wanted it to just be lust with Emma... so everyone would be right.

He slid all the way inside of her, picking up a rhythmic motion. Regina had her eyes fixed on the ceiling the entire time. She felt her heart clench in her chest, and tears began to well up in her eyes. She grasped at the material of Robin's shirt and tried to hold back breathy moans, but she let them out despite herself. She could only think of Emma, no matter how hard she tried to push thoughts of her away. Even now, as she lay with someone else she was overcome with guilt and self-loathe because she knew that Kathryn was wrong. Emma was wrong. Regina, herself had been wrong... Emma was wrong.

She craved more than... than _this_ with Emma. And as twisted and backwards as it may seem, it wasn't until now, at this very moment, that she realized the extent of her cravings for the blonde.

Robin placed both of his hands on the mattress besides Regina as he began to pick up his pace, getting rougher as he brought himself closer to the edge. After a few more languid strokes, he pulled out and moved to finish the job in the bathroom.

Brown eyes remained on the ceiling as she lay there completely frozen. She blinked for a few moments and tried to forget what just happened. But it was hard when she still lay in his bed and she could still hear his low grunts even with the bathroom door closed. Regina lay there feeling completely exposed before she slowly sat up, tears being overtaken by gravity and falling down her cheeks. She readjusted her underwear and fixed her skirt. Regina quickly rose to her feet and bolted out of his apartment.

Three hours later she was back at her apartment, her hair was still wet from the shower. But Regina still decided to walk outside onto her balcony. She found herself sending longing glances towards the spot Emma had occupied that one night. She wanted to see Emma, she wished for a chance encounter. If only Emma would just show her face, let Regina have just a glimpse of her, the brunette would make things right. She was determined to, but it seemed as though the chances Emma gave to each person around her were gravely sparse.

Her eyes fell in defeat and she studied the ground for a moment, then she dragged her gaze to the sky. A single tear slipped from her eye, because now the night sky and every star in it was a constant reminder of the blonde. She felt silly for what she was about to do, but her eyes slipped shut and she whispered a wish into the air anyway. Her words died and her eyes fluttered open again. Regina waited as if Emma would finally appear, but to her dismay nothing of the sort happened. Her shoulders fell and a violent shiver flowed through her body. Deciding to head back in before she got sick, Regina sent one last fleeting glance towards Emma's empty balcony and then retreated back to her bedroom.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a little bit of Emma...?

Regina stepped out onto the cool cement with her bare feet. It was cold outside, _really_ cold. Telltale signs of her body disagreeing with her choices to step onto her balcony without accurate clothing were evident. Her teeth chattered, and violent shivers wracked her body almost immediately. But it was welcomed. The ice cold wind of the night whipped across her skin like one hundred knives, and she welcomed it.

She was desperately trying to grasp onto something other than the thoughts that continuously plagued her mind. She told herself to just forget it. Yet, somehow her eyes still drifted over to the balcony next to hers and wished for a glimpse of blonde hair and green eyes, even if it was only for the briefest of moments.

She stared for a long moment before she finally dropped her gaze. It had nearly three weeks since Emma asked her to leave her apartment. Three weeks of the blonde making herself completely unavailable. Regina hadn't even seen Emma and they lived right next door to each other.

It seemed as though the blonde had been irrevocably hurt. And she wasn't willing to give Regina the chance to apologize properly as the brunette wished to do.

She let out a visible puff of air into the night sky and it lingered before it disappeared completely. She shifted her stance and then lifted her head to gaze at the night sky. The brunette looked for the Big Dipper, but she didn't know what it looked like to find it. So she stood there taking in all of the beauty the sky had to offer.

This was every reminder she needed but at the same time she didn't need at the moment. Everything about the night sky wreaked of Emma Swan now, and it was chaos with its stars littered everywhere, yet it was beautifully made and though it was chaos every star was strategically placed.

Emma would probably be pointing out another constellation right now, if she'd been here. Brown eyes roamed mournfully to the balcony next to hers almost hopeful that Emma had quietly snuck outside, but she was met with emptiness yet again.

Regina fixed her gaze back to the stars above and a violent shiver tore through her body. Her teeth clattered together wildly and she could feel her fingers growing numb.

She'd be sick tomorrow. The brunette had already woken up with a blocked nose and a soar throat, but it had gotten better as the day progressed, however being outside with little clothing on could only provoke further sickness. But she didn't care, as long as she could find solace in the night sky for right now, that was all that mattered.

"You know, it's pretty painful watching you stubbornly try to fight the cold..." Regina whipped around so fast that she nearly lost her balance. Her eyes widened in shock as her gaze landed on the object of her affliction. Suddenly those three weeks spent apart felt like centuries. How had she gone so long without seeing _that_ face, or _those_ eyes?

Regina found herself shaking for completely different reasons now. It was painful to see Emma so suddenly. She didn't know what to do with her hands. She felt nervous, all of that time wishing for a chance encounter and now that the moment presented itself, she was freezing... both figuratively and literally.

She clenched and unclenched her fists as she shifted under Emma's watchful gaze.

"You're losing by the way." Regina thought that maybe the cold was getting to her, but for some reason Emma didn't look so angry like Regina thought she'd be. In fact it was hard to miss the sincere concern in Emma's voice or the way the blonde nervously clutched onto the blanket in her hands.

Regina briefly wondered if Emma was as nervous as she was. "I-" The brunette started but then cut herself off. She didn't want to ruin her chance. It was strange how Emma could just be standing there, in the most innocent of ways, and Regina was still somehow terrified. "I'm sorry." She finally relented and broke down. "Please... I'm sorry?" Every word lingered heavily in the air as Regina begged for Emma's forgiveness with her eyes.

The blonde broke the intense gaze when she dropped her eyes to the ground. "It's fine, Regina... you didn't do anything that everyone else hasn't already done."

That stung Regina far more than it hurt Emma to say. To be categorized with everyone else, _correction_ , everyone else who _hurt_ Emma before had a sobering affect on Regina and she wasn't the slightest bit intoxicated. "No, that's not..." she began to shake her head in denial. "That's not who I am, I didn't want that."

Emma looked up to her with understanding eyes, and she nodded her head. "But didn't you?"

Regina blinked, feeling herself panic as she grew slightly frustrated from the level of complication of things. "You're driving me crazy." She breathed and a visible puff of air lingered before it dissipated. Her heart twisted painfully in her chest as she realized just how true that statement was. "I can't stop thinking about you." She said truthfully. There was nothing else to lose. Emma had already taken herself away, so what if Regina laid it all out? Emma made it clear that she didn't want anything else to do with her anyway.

The blonde stared at Regina with the same unreadable impassive look that she always sported, and that frustrated the brunette even further. She felt silly... she was going to cry, no matter how careless she tried to tell herself to be, she still had feelings.

Emma's form grew blurred as tears formed in her eyes, but she fought to hold them back. She turned her gaze, just in time, to focus back on the night sky. How had Emma gained such power over her? And so quickly?

"Don't do that." Emma said softly, and the sound of the other woman's voice made Regina slightly jolt, but she kept her eyes trained on the night sky out of embarrassment and hurt.

"What? What did I do?" Regina asked as a strange sense of déjà vu washed over her.

"Don't... cry." She felt even more embarrassed from being caught and it didn't help that Emma's soft voice was making it harder for her to hold back the waterworks.

She felt as if she had no control over her emotions. The brunette inhaled deeply and released her breath slowly in an attempt to calm her scattered emotions. She brought her hand up and swiped quickly at her eyes before she looked at Emma again. And she couldn't help the shock of seeing how torn Emma looked.

"I came out here to say I'm sorry." Emma glanced to the left nervously and stepped closer to the edge of her balcony. "And to bring you this." She offered the big fluffy blanket to her neighbor and Regina found herself accepting the blanket with great pleasure.

She wrapped the thick material around her body and basked in its warmth. She recognized this blanket. It was the same one Emma had draped over her body the night Regina had asked her out. Regina hugged the fabric closer to her body, recognizing Emma's sent on it.

"What are you apologizing for?" The brunette finally asked.

"For seducing you." She replied guiltily. Regina watched in slight confusion as Emma stuffed her hands into her pockets and looked away bashfully. "I just needed to prove that you were only interested in me for one reason. The main reason, really."

Regina felt anger flare within her again. "But you've only proven a lie to yourself." The brunette countered. "Listen, I admit that I may have had... thoughts. But Emma, I see you for so much more than those thoughts."

"No, Regina." Emma took a few tentative steps backwards and Regina took a few forward until her front was pressed against the cool metal of her balcony. "I'm a Porn Star!" She practically seethed. "And women like you don't settle for women like me!"

The brunette found herself dumbstruck yet again. "Women like me?" She questioned in confusion.

"Yea." Emma confirmed in the most pitiful voice Regina had ever heard. "The smart, beautiful, and successful kind of woman." Her voice quivered slightly and Regina could feel her heart aching again as she longed to reach out and pull Emma towards her. "You're not the person I get to have, you're much too good for me. You're just someone that I let pass by because I know someone else is better for you. Don't you get it? I don't want to ruin you."

If Regina wanted to say anything in return, anything at all, Emma robbed her of the chance to. The blonde turned and bolted back inside her apartment before the brunette could respond, leaving Regina speechless for the umpteenth time that night.

In the cold, in the silence of the night Regina stood stock still, staring at the spot Emma had occupied only moments ago, she said into the silence "if I get you, I'll never let you go." It was declaration, a promise really.

 


	7. Chapter 7

Regina stared down at her unappetizing meal and slightly grimaced. She couldn't help but softly push the food away. She had no appetite. Her eyes scanned the table and she absentmindedly registered her friend's conversation, something about the nail salon. It was something Regina just didn't care to get into at the moment. So she sat there quietly with her eyes down and her fingers clasped gently in front of her.

She let out a sigh, and then another. She was bored of their outing and it had only just begun. She wanted out. The brunette let out yet another sigh and dropped her head into her hand.

"What are you huffing about?"

Regina's eyes darted up, slightly caught off guard from being acknowledged, and was met with two pairs of questioning blue eyes. Her mouth fell open as she tried to form a coherent sentence, but she just sat there with a blank expression on her face. "I'm sorry, what?"

Kathryn flashed Ruby and sideways glance and Ruby countered her friend's action with a knowing look. Regina furrowed her eyebrows, because clearly she was missing something. "What? What was that look for?" Brown eyes jumped from Kathryn to Ruby back to Kathryn to Ruby again.

"Well," Ruby started mischievously. "A little birdie told us that you've been keeping a secret from us." The woman slightly leaned forward in her seat and an almost menacing smile spread across her face. "So spill."

Kathryn leaned back in her seat and folded her arms over her chest with a knowing smirk directed towards her best friend. "Yea, Regina, tell us what you were up to, oh, I don't know..." Kathryn's eyes roamed to the ceiling as if she was actually trying to think of her next words. "Four nights ago?" Then blue eyes were back on Regina.

The brunette felt regret settle in the pit of her stomach as unwanted thoughts of Robin touching her and kissing her came crashing into the forefront of her mind. She'd spent the last four days avoiding any thoughts of what happened in a true moment of weakness and stupidity. The memory of it all made her want to scurry to the nearest restroom and hack up the remaining content in her stomach.

"How do you guys even know about that?" She asked grimly as her eyes continuously sought out the exit.

"You know David and Robin are close, and they don't actually keep things from each other. And of course David told me once he found out. Apparently he thinks that you and Robin will get back together an-"

"That will never happen." Regina cut in fiercely, but then she cowered in her seat, lacking all of the ferociousness she possessed mere moments ago. "It was a mistake. One that I regret, greatly. One that I don't care to talk about." She spoke softly. The brunette pleaded with her eyes for her friend's to change the subject and for a moment she thought that they wouldn't relent.

But Ruby was the first to nod in acceptance and understanding. "So..." the brunette took her fork and toyed with her pasta. "Kathy tells me you've had your eyes set on a _woman_..." Ruby asked skeptically, unsure if this was a safer topic.

Regina felt a sting in her chest at the implication of Emma. Emma, the woman who had shot her down time after time. Emma, the girl next door, who had completely written her off before she ever gave Regina a fair chance. Her reasoning was noble enough, but it did nothing to quell the longing Regina still felt towards her.

It was almost laughable at how transparent Emma was all of a sudden, the blonde didn't even have the decency to show up in Regina's dreams anymore. How could Emma possibly rob Regina's thoughts off all things... In fact sex with Emma was the furthest thing from her mind at this point. The brunette just longed for a simple conversation. Emma always seemed to keep their encounters on a time restraint. She could never talk to the blonde for longer than ten minutes tops without Emma running off... or kicking her out.

"Yea, well..." Regina raised her eyebrows and thought of any self depreciating phrase she could think of. "There's not much to talk about there either." She said, attempting to avoid this topic as well.

Kathryn's eyes flashed as she sat up in her seat. "What happened there? Just the other day you were all about her." Even if Kathryn didn't care too much for Emma and even if thought Regina was in way over head, she still wanted to support her friend.

"It's-" Regina shook her head and waived her hand dismissively as if to erase the topic of discussion. "-nothing."

"Well-" Ruby interjected, effectively cutting Kathryn off before she could say anything else. "Tell me about her anyway."

Regina paused for a moment, thinking if there was anything she could say to change the subject. But Ruby was looking at her with a sweet encouraging look that practically forced Regina to relent. "Okay fine..." she sighed. "I guess she's- she's..." the brunette struggled to find her wording. "She has a certain kind softness about her." The brunette finally said. "I mean it in the sense that she's caring... and nice." A hint of a smile graced her lips as she thought of the blonde. "But she's fierce too... and somewhat aloof." Her eyebrows furrowed on their own accord. "And I'm not sure if it's just because I'm new and she doesn't take well to newcomers or if that's just her personality."

"And despite the uncertainty you still want to be apart of her world?" Ruby quipped.

"I mean , yea, I would like to be." She said wistfully, but the reality of it all came crashing down on her far to quickly for her to get swept away in any fantasies. She cleared her throat and proceeded to say "but, things would be too complicated." Her eye glanced towards Kathryn and then back to Ruby.

"And despite even that, you still want to try?" Ruby asked again.

Regina didn't answer right away, and it wasn't because she didn't have an answer. She knew the answer, it was just because Ruby had a round about way of making her realize things on her own. "Yes, I do..." she confirmed.

"So then what are you going to-"

"I need to go find Emma." Regina muttered before she abruptly stood from her seat causing her chair to make and awful screeching sound against the floor. "Sorry." She grimaced meekly after gathering her things and making a break for the door. "We'll have to reschedule!" She called over her shoulder.

She quickly made her way back home and hoped that Emma was there, because Regina didn't know if she'd have the nerve to talk to Emma any other time. It had to be now, _right_ now.

Regina brought up a shaky fist and knocked three times, and with each knock she could feel her heartbeat triple in speed. Those few moments she stood at Emma's door felt like eternity, but somehow passed by at the speed of light.

Before long a faint "be there in a minute" could be heard from somewhere in the apartment. She almost lost her nerve and scurried to her own apartment, but she grounded her feet and took a few calming deep breaths. She had to try just one last time _for_ Emma.

When the blonde finally swung the door open, Regina could tell that Emma had recently stepped out of the shower. If her dripping wet hair and robe were any indication.

Her eyes involuntarily roamed the length of her body before she looked away with a slight blush tingeing her cheeks. "I want to speak with you." She found herself feeling somewhat out of breath.

"Come in." Emma eyed her with a look of concern as she stepped to the side and allowed Regina to enter her home. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes." Regina hesitated and she closed her eyes, in sync with the sound of the door closing behind them. When she opened them again, Emma had laid a hand on her shoulder, coaxing her to have a seat. "Well, honestly, no... but I'm hoping that after I leave here today, everything really will be okay."

"Well what's wrong?"

Regina looked at Emma and Emma at Regina and she couldn't help but want to lean in an kiss the other woman, just to finally know how it felt. Oh how she longed for someone that was well within her grasp. "You."

"Regina..." The blonde breathed, her voice filled with half understanding and the other half avoidance.

"No." The brunette put her hand up in a halting motion. "I just want to say something, and then you can say whatever you'd like to say after. Just please let me get this out?" Emma looked like she wanted to protest, but she relaxed her shoulders and motioned for the brunette to speak. Regina flashed her a thankful smile and clear her throat. "I want to take you out." She started. "...on a date, a real one. I want to show you off. I want to look at the stars with you. I'll even learn about the constellations so that I'm actually aware of what you're talking about." She added to sweeten the deal, and that earned her an endearing smile from the blonde. "I want to buy you flowers or chocolates or whatever makes you happy. I want to spend time with you, Emma." Regina could feel her hands shake as she looked into Emma's eyes. "I want all of these things with you... And I want you to let me have all those moments."

Emma regarded her for several moments with the same impassive look that was now beginning to drive Regina mad. The brunette felt like her head would explode, just after her heart if Emma didn't say something soon. After a few more torturous moments of silence Emma averted her gaze and parted her lips. "Why are you so invested in this?"

Regina looked at Emma through doe eyes and tucked few stray strands of hair behind her ear. She opened her mouth, immediately, posed to respond on autopilot. But her nerves got the better of her and instead she averted her gaze and clamped her mouth shut. Yet, Emma stood in front of her patiently waiting for an answer... "I like you." Finally, she said. As if it should've been the most obvious thing in the world by now.

The blonde studied her for a few beats and began to drum her fingers lightly against her leg. Regina noticed how Emma seemed to be on edge around her, she was noticeably calmer when they had a bit of space between them. "You know that's not enough... right?" She asked timidly.

And maybe it was never Emma's intention to hurt Regina's feelings, but that's all she seemed to be doing lately. Regina took shot after shot, and Emma was steadfast when she stood her ground. The brunette was beginning to feel a bit hopeless. "So, then, I should just give up?" She prodded. She didn't know which way was up, so she'd have to let Emma tell her, irregardless of if she liked the answer or not. Still, she braced herself.

"You should..." Green eyes searched the floor frantically, as if she could find the answers there, and brown eyes instinctively dropped as well, already feeling the sting of disappointment. "You should." She said again, but this time with finality.

Regina took in a staggered breathe and folded her arms over her chest. She looked to the ceiling, cursing the way she felt her bottom lip begin to tremble. "And what if I don't want to?"

Emma's eyes held a certain level of sadness and she worried her bottom lip. Regina glanced down to Emma left hand as her index finger twitched as if she would reach out to her. "You'll get hurt." She said softly, and Regina hated her for sounding so caring.

She rolled her eyes and dropped her head into her hand. "I'm not a child, Emma I don't need your protection. Do you not think I can handle-"

"No, I don't." She said a little too forcefully. "I don't think you know what you're trying to get yourself into. I am a pornstar-"

"You're more than that-" Regina tried to interject, feeling her own temper rise.

"No! I am _just_ that! You can't handle the countless people that will disrespect you for being with me, that will disrespect me right in front of you." She hopped up and began to pace, walking back and forth while watery brown eyes followed her every move. "You don't understand that people don't view me as a person, but as a thing. Regina, you think I'm being cruel by constantly denying you, but I'm not." She tried to convey her sincerity by looking deeply into Regina's eyes, but the brunette only looked away. "I... I want you." She said a little less forcefully, but that did nothing to help Regina look at her. "I just don't think I can handle seeing you unhappy because of me."

"Again, I don't need your protection! I never asked for it!" She practically shouted and Emma took an instinctive half step back before something flashed in her eyes and she set her lips in a snarl.

"You're insufferable!" Emma yelled in frustration.

"And you're annoying!" Regina fired back, feeling slightly hurt, but not caring enough to think on it.

"Regina just go." The blonde said with an exasperated voice as she motioned towards the door.

"No." Emma's eyes flashed when Regina also stood to her feet, surprising them both.

"No?"

"No, I'm not leaving.... Emma I don't want to. Please don't make me."

Emma was quiet for a few beats before she sent Regina a glare cold enough to make the woman want to shrink back into her seat, but she stood her ground. The blonde huffed and so did Regina. And before the brunette could say anything more, the blonde took one step closer and in one quick motion she pulled Regina flush up against her body.

"For the record, we're not done with this conversation." She said breathlessly just before she dipped her head and smashed their lips together in a searing kiss.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the little delay in posting. I wrote this and tried to figure out a good way to bring it to a closing in this chapter. Abrupt, I know. Don't hate me. I'm not done with this story, just this segment of it. So in short, this is the end of Girl Next Door, but I'm going to make part 2 so if you're interested, just look out for that. And thank you all for the support this far!!!

Her heart beat wildly in her chest. Her hands were shaking and everything around her suddenly became obsolete. Nothing mattered, not when Emma was kissing her like this. She felt a fire ignite in the pit of her stomach, one that she thought burned out a while ago. But it was back and it made her feel even more helpless than before. Emma Swan would be the death of her, and if she was unsure before, this kiss was all of the confirmation she needed now.

Emma moved her lips against Regina skillfully. She brought her right hand up and pressed the pads of her fingers gently onto regina’s scalp. The blonde leaned in even further, basking in the softness that was Regina Mills. A soft, primal moan escaped her and she took Regina’s bottom lip between her teeth. She pulled back slightly only to dive back in.

Regina had her hands placed gently on emma’s biceps. She couldn't contain herself from roaming and exploring the blonde, not when she'd literally dreamed of moments like this before. But those dreams couldn't have prepared her for this moment. She felt completely smitten, and there would be no complaints if she and Emma just stayed like this forever.

But all too soon the blonde pulled away slowly. Regina couldn't help but follow her, she wanted more. Emma placed a soft, yet firm hand on Regina’s chest, effectively stopping her. “You are getting inside my head.” She said with her eyes still closed.

The brunette studied the blonde’s face, trying to memorize every painful detail written in this moment. “Is this the part where you ask me to leave?” She asked with a hint of hopefulness in her voice. Wishful that she was reading Emma all wrong right now and the blonde didn't actually want her to leave. She blinked rapidly and took in a shaky breath. The moment Emma opened her eyes, and Regina saw the regret that pooled in them, she couldn't help but step out of Emma’s grasp. She found herself missing the blonde’s warmth immediately, but she was simply too embarrassed and hurt to fight for anything anymore.

“Then why kiss me?” She demanded, voice laced with the pain and anger she felt in her chest. “Why pretend that-“ She rubbed her hands roughly against her face and turned her back to the blonde. She let out a hurtful sigh and tears streamed down her cheeks. “If you really want me to leave then I’ll go, but…” she dropped her hands hopelessly and looked to the ceiling as she did often times when she was fighting her tears. “I won't be coming back.” And Emma was silent and Regina couldn't take it. She spun around and stalked towards the other woman causing Emma to take a tentative step back. “Because you can't tell me you want me, and then tell me to leave. You can't kiss me like you mean it, and then tell me to leave. Emma you just can't…” she bit down hard on her quivering lips as Emma looked at her seemingly just as hurt. “You can't push me away like this. I care about you!”

Emma stared at her for a few long moments and Regina thought that maybe she'd gotten through to her. But her heart nearly shattered in her chest the moment Emma silently brushed past her and held the living room door open. Regina stood staring at the wall as she fought for her face not to crumple, not here.

She tried to think of something more to say to Emma, but nothing came to mind. She'd said everything she wanted Emma to know and she'd exhausted all of her options. So, she leaned down, grabbed her things and left without even a sideways glance towards the blonde.

Ironic how the most hurtful action of the entire evening was the sound the door made when it clicked shut. For some reason it sounded like a gun had gone off right beside regina’s ears. It affected her so much that she was slightly jolted as she made her way next door to her own apartment.

She hated Emma Swan. Everything about her. Her stupid attitude, her dumb smile, her impeccable green eyes. Regina seethed as she angrily twisted her doorknob and entered her home. She hated the way Emma kept her best interest at heart, even if it hurt.

She stopped in the middle of her living room and looked around as if she were searching for a plausible answer to all of her questions and confusion. She wanted to rip something, or scream… or both. But somehow all she managed to do was let out a small whimper and flop down on her couch. She took one of her decorative pillows and curled into a fetal position as she hugged it close to her body.

A feeling of despair settled in her chest as the realization that she would never have Emma in the way that she wanted, began to sink in. “Shit.” She hissed and let out a puff of air through her nose. She brought a hand to her head as if to shield herself from the painful reality that was currently her life. “I’m falling in love with her- I'm such an idiot.”

SQ

It all started innocently enough, just a few subtle glances from a stranger across the bar. Regina didn't foresee the woman actually acting on their silent game of cat and mouse by sending her over drink. Nor did she expect the woman to be pleasantly welcoming as she approached her. They talked and laughed and some how one drink turned into them both losing count and feeling a bit more tipsy than either one of them planned to be that evening. Then the woman leaned in and drunkly asked: “Do you want to get out of here?” And that's how they ended up hand in hand in front of the brunette’s apartment building.

Regina let out a flirtatious giggle as she and her date stumbled noisily down her apartment hallway. They had a hard time keeping their balance as they continuously ran into the walls. The other woman, whom Regina embarrassingly couldn't identify by name, had her hands everywhere. Regina figured it was partially due to lust, but mostly to keep herself from falling.

“Wait!” The other woman stopped abruptly, and Regina stumbled a few steps backwards.

“What happened?” She asked with a confusion laced voice.

A smile slowly spread across her face before she burst into a fit of laughter. “You're so drunk.” She accused playfully and Regina laughed in return.

“That's the point.” She said, before she began to lead them further down the hall. She stopped just a few steps shy of her door when one pissed looking Emma Swan stepped out into the hall clad in sweats and a t-shirt.

Emma folded her arms over her chest and sent Regina a glare so fierce that if the brunette were sober she may have cowered in her spot. But she wasn't sober and Emma wasn't intimidating her, not in the slightest. “What?” She managed to say without laughing. “What are you angry with me about now?” Regina rolled her eyes with a playful smirk on her face. She didn't get why Emma Swan was so emotional all of the time. “You need to relax.”

“I am relaxed.” Emma bit out. “What you need to do is keep it down.” Green eyes darted from left to right, trying to ensure none of their other neighbors had been disturbed by the ruckus.

“Oh sorry.” The brunette said in a mocking tone as she threw her hands in the air teasingly. “We’ll be sure to keep it down.” She said in a condescending tone before she looked to her date of the night. The other woman laughed on cue.

Emma rolled her eyes and shook her head as green eyes bounced from her neighbor to the woman on her arm in annoyance. “Whatever, I don't have time for this.” The blonde turned to go back inside of her apartment.

“You know, she looks just like that porn star.” Regina’s date said in a hushed tone, but Emma still heard her, and the brunette noticed how her neighbor faltered. Brown eyes burned holes in Emma’s back as the woman stood there seemingly waiting on regina’s response.

The brunette scoffed and found laughter bubbling in her chest. “Yea, she does, doesn't she?” She agreed and her date laughed and nodded. Regina turned and pushed her door open. “Do you want another drink?” She asked as she watched the woman stumble into her living room.

“Yea.”

“They're just ab-“ before Regina could finish her sentence she found herself being yanked from her apartment. She stumbled back into the hallway and watched as Emma closed the door behind her. “What are you doing?”

“What was that?”

Emma’s anger vaguely registered in Regina’s mind, but the brunette was too intoxicated to be logical about the situation. “What was what?” She snarled as she ungracefully let her back rest against the wall. It was a bad idea to go dancing in six inch heels and she was slowly starting to regret that decision.

“The porn star comment.” The blonde raised a perfectly arched eyebrow as she regarded her neighbor.

“Well you do look like her.” Regina scoffed matter-of-factly. “Just tell me what you want from me? I need to get back to my-“

“To me.” Emma interjected and the brunette flashed her a look of confusion. “You're not going back in there.”

“That's my house.” Regina laughed as she threw her thumb over her shoulder. “Where else would I go?”

“You're coming home with me.”

She wanted to question it, she wanted to ask why. But her mouth hung open as she stared at Emma dumbly. Everything in her drunken brain screamed for her to go back to her date, yet she found herself being willingly led to emma’s apartment.

A wave of anxiety came crashing into her, immediately causing a sobering affect on her. “No.” She snatched her hand out of emma’s grasped almost as if the blonde’s touch had burned her. “You'll kick me out in the morning. You'll make me feel like you care tonight, and then you'll ask me to leave.” The blonde turned slowly and looked at Regina in a way that she never had before… almost as if this was truly the first time she realized she'd been hurting the brunette all along. “And, I've decided that I'm better than that.” Lacking the confidence she thought she possessed. “It's no secret that I have feelings for you, but I'm done with this game of cat and mouse. So,” her eyes dropped and roamed the length of emma’s body on their way down. “Goodbye Emma. I have a date, and though I can't remember her name right now, and she probably can't remember mine either…” Regina inhaled as she hiccuped. “She's waiting on me.” She finished with a lame shrug.

The brunette turned to make an ungraceful departure but she didn't make it further than two steps before Emma grabbed her and spun her around. “Newsflash Regina, you're better than her too.” Emma stared daggers into Regina’s door at the mention of said other woman. “And you are going home with me. That wasn't a question.”

“I'm not your little play thing, okay? You can't just make me feel special and then throw me away.” Regina huffed childishly as a pout formed on her lips. “No, I won't do this again with you.” She tried her best to focus and speak to Emma with conviction, but she couldn't focus, not with the room spinning. She felt herself leaning to one side, but Emma was quick to offer a firm hand and hold her steady.

“Let me take care of you?” She asked softly. “You can barely stand on your own.”

“I don't need your sympathy Emma Swan.” Regina bit back in slight annoyance, because she felt herself caving. She knew she wasn't strong enough to resist Emma for too long. But even her drunken brain registered the consequences of tomorrow if she fell for her neighbor’s charm tonight.

“It's not sympathy, I care about your wellbeing.”

Regina scoffed. “Since when do you care about anything in regards to me? You've kicked me out of your apartment twice. And might I add that both times were after kisses you initiated. There won't be a third time.” Regina said with finality before she attended to leave yet again.

Her hand was on the doorknob, fixed to turn it when emma’s voice floated down the silent hall and into her ears. “I have a hard time trusting.” She said with slight panic, registering in Regina’s ears and the brunette immediately turned to face her again.

“What?”

The blonde sighed heavily and dropped her gaze. “I have trust issues. I don't trust… that you won't hurt me at some point. And I'm afraid, because I like you so much already. Who’s to say that you're willing to put up with my lifestyle?”

“I am.”

“I know, but…” the blonde stuffed her hands into her pockets and switched her stance nervously. “What if we tried this, and things went sour? What if I'm not ready to risk losing you? Because you know that if we go there, that's exactly what a relationship with me will entail. The risk of losing you.”

Regina seemed to register her words loud and clear as she let her back hit the wall. She let her eyes fall shut and she tried to clear her clouded mind. “I don’t know, Emma.” Regina finally said in defeat. “I can't promise you that your feelings won't ever get hurt, or that if things go sour that we won't lose each other. Because you do realize that I'd be losing you too… I can't promise you anything, because I'm no fortune teller. I'm just a woman, standing here in front of you hoping, desperately, that you'll see I'm not a wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing. I see you for you, and I want you to see yourself that way too.” She looked into emma’s eyes and longed to kiss the pain away. “I'm not your past.” She offered. “I'm just… here, right now, trying to convey my feelings in the most honest way I know how. And I know that must not mean much to you given our track record…” It hurt far worse for Regina to say than for Emma to hear those words leave the brunette’s lips. “But I don't have any intentions of hurting you. I never have... If you were wondering.”

Emma’s eyes darted towards Regina’s door and then back to Regina. She took a few careful steps towards the brunette and placed a hand on her neighbor’s arm. She gently pried Regina’s arms apart and pulled the other woman closer.

Regina’s breath hitched as she stared into green eyes. “Don't.” She pleaded softly. “I'm not strong enough to keep doing this.”

“Let me.” The blonde leaned in to kiss the brunette, but Regina moved just out of her reach. Emma pulled back and stared at with Regina with a mixture of hurt, and pleading swimming in her eyes.

“No.” The brunette said unconvincingly. “If I let you, then you'll only end up hurting my feelings in the morning. No.” She pleaded with her eyes for Emma to relent, but the blonde wasn't giving up so easily.

“I'm sorry.” She said, before she made a beeline and began to pepper soft kisses along Regina’s jawline. The brunette clenched her jaw and pushed a forceful bought of air out threw her nose. This was heaven, but Emma was hell, and Regina knew it. “Let me make it clear.” Emma said between kisses. “I'm sorry for how I've been treating you. If it's any consolation, I've wanted you this whole time.” But it wasn't. “I thought you'd be like every one else. I thought that if I pushed you away enough that you'd leave.”

“Yet, I'm still standing right here.” It was said in self depreciating manner. She just couldn't understand why it was so hard for her to walk away.

“You are, and I… thank you for not walking away, and if I wasn't sure before, I'm sure now.” Brown eyes darted up to stare into green ones, silently questioning for Emma to be clear. “I don't want to let you go back inside to her. I don't want to push you away anymore. I don't want to fight this. I don't even want to let you leave my arms… I want us to try. And I don't want to think about the possibility of losing you, because if I haven't learned anything at all during my time of knowing you, I've learned that you don't give up easily. You're stubborn, infuriating, and you don't listen. But, I want that- I want to give us a chance.”

Regina’s heart fluttered in her chest and she was feeling a whole slew of butterflies in her stomach. The combination of the two produced a dizzying affect on her. And suddenly she was painfully aware that she was still drunk, and… she quickly turned to the side and stepped out of emma’s grasp, heaving up all the contents in her stomach. The blonde grimaced, but she quickly recovered and moved around Regina to hold her hair back. She rubbed soothing circles on her back, attempting to offer the other woman some form of comfort.

When she was done, Regina slowly stood and dragged the back of her hand across her lips. “Im sorry, that was so gross… I'm so embarrassed.”

Emma offered the other woman her signature smirk in response. “So a simple no, would've done.” She said with a hint of playfulness. “You didn't need to vomit, I get the picture.”

Regina stared at her for a moment, before a small smile graced her lips. “Shut up, and take me home.”

“To your-“

“Yours, Emma, I’m sleeping in your bed tonight.”

Emma’s eyes darted back to Regina’s apartment door in question. “What about your, um, your date? And uh… this mess?” She motioned off to the side of them.

“Call housekeeping.” She swiftly instructed before she turned and pushed her door open. Inside her home, her date lay slumped on regina’s couch, completely passed out. Emma peered over her shoulder and gazed at the woman with sympathy.

“Maybe we should just let her sleep. I'm sure she’ll leave in the morning on her own.”

Regina silently agreed, not feeling well enough to protest or come up with a better plan, she simply closed her door and waited while Emma spoke with housekeeping. She only wished that Emma was being sincere, but she still felt apprehensive.

When the blonde hung up the phone she stared at Regina and Regina stared right back. “Are you sure about this?” The brunette asked one last time.

Emma turned to look at her, just to convey her sincerity. “I've never been more sure about anything else.”


End file.
